Coca-Cola reports progress in reducing environmental impact
uses by six per cent and has put measures in place that will reduce
the energy used for lighting by half.
CCE revealed the figures in its second report on the measures the company is taking to be a good corporate citizen and reduce the impact of its manufacturing activities on the environment. More and more companies are publishing such reports in a bid to temper claims by environmentalists and others that they are harming the environment. The recent focus on global warming and the effects of CO2 emissions has put added pressure on companies to take measures to reduce their manufacturing impact on the environment. CCE markets, distributes, and produces Coca-Cola products. In June, Coca-Cola HBC, a provider of non-alcoholic beverages, published a sustainable development report on its activities in all 28 countries in which it operates. Coca-Cola also said it had identified health and wellness, water stewardship, energy and climate change, sustainable packaging and recycling, and diversity management as priority issues for the company. The company has developed a three year plan with performance targets for each issue. The company said its water efficiency has improved six per cent from 2005, and it has installed new industrial and high-bay fluorescent lights. The lights will reduce the company's carbon emissions by 137,000 tonnes annually significantly reduce utility bills, the company estimated. The company said it has also helped develop hybrid trucks that would also reduce carbon emissions. The company's environmental data covers production facilities only, and does not yet include sales and distribution centres and administrative offices. "We believe the environmental impacts of these to be significantly less than production facilities," the company stated, adding that the data does not cover the manufacturing of beverages it only distribute but does not produce. Coca-Cola Enterprises is the world's largest bottler of Coca-Cola beverages, mainly in North America and western Europe. In 2006, the company distributed about 19 per cent of the Coca-Cola Company's global volume.
